Re: distribution

[hclsmith%tallships.istar.ca@localhost (Hume Smith)]

>hello ..
>
>where can i get the NetBSD 1.2 distribution, in tar.gz form and not in
>lots of 80 kb files.
>
>thank you very much ...

uhh, those are the tar.gz.  you do   cat * | gunzip | tar xvf -

they're done that way for three reasons:
- you can ftp the parts of the file in parallel; great for dialup connections, 
you maximize link throughput despite the inevitable TCP dropouts/retrys
- it's much easier to continue a transfer after a lost/aborted connection
- (the advertised reason) a bad spot on a disk should only hyrt one piece, 
which you rename and refetch.  (by extension, any damage can be isolated to 
small pieces and those are more easily/reliably replaced than one entire file.)

i thought that technique was a little odd, too, until i *thought* about it...

--
Hume Smith <URL:mailto:hclsmith%tallships.istar.ca@localhost>
<URL:http://dess.tallships.istar.ca/%7Ehclsmith/>

To hell with the information age, I want a wisdom age. - Bill Maxim